We Were There
by Lost in the Mix
Summary: Sealed inside the belly of Shinigami for all eternity, Minato and Kushina made due. This was the price of their love for their child to continue living and to fulfill the prophecy. Death took notice. He always took notice. Such selfless sacrifices were always to be rewarded. After all, it was for the greater good.


**Disclaimer: Naruto© is a product of Masashi Kishimoto and not of my own creation. The story plot, though, is all of my own.**

Sealed inside the belly of Shinigami for all eternity, Minato and Kushina made due. This was the price of their love for their child to continue living and to fulfill the prophecy. Death took notice. He always took notice. Such selfless sacrifices were always to be rewarded. After all, it was for the greater good.

A/N – This will be quite the AU as I plan on adding events (and a few new characters), removing events from the manga or shifting them back a bit all due to Death's meddling of the original Naruto timeline. Please keep in mind that not every beloved character will be saved or spared as my intention is to keep this storyline as realistic as possible. With that said, please enjoy.

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A cacophony of sounds registered in her head as she stood alongside the shore, the salty sea waves lapping forth every so often to smother the skirt of her loose-fitted yet elaborate kimono—the very same kimono her mother had picked up for her earlier on in the week for the upcoming festivities set for later on that night—with the saline water that soaked her skin. She was in no mood to celebrate.

As young as she was, she was aware of the significance of what was happening around her or rather, what was to come; and it was as plain as day that she was at the center of it all. After all, Mito-sama had chosen _her._

Her clan had rejoiced at the news. What an honor, they cooed! How blessed of a child she was to have been born with so very special chakra—a trait that had sparked interest in the clan elders the moment it had been revealed. Plagued by the perpetual cycle of war and bloodshed, the news of Kushina's birth had been a flicker of hope in her clansmen's eyes. She had been born special, which must have been a sign of good things to come from the gods above. Kami was smiling down upon their village, for the girl—a little princess amongst them all—would be sent off to Konohagakure no Sato once she was old enough to strengthen the ties between the two villages.

Little Kushina-hime was to become the second jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

She was nothing but a tool; a pawn; a bargaining chip that was meant to solidify the bond between Uzushiogakure and the shinobi of Konoha, she knew this well—though less than few were aware of her knowing the truth—and it _stung_. She had virtually no say in the matter as her fate was sealed.

It was so easy to pretend that her birthday had _not_ just passed, she had _not_ aged another year, and that in just two days time; she would _not_ be shipped off to Konohagakure to live with no one to accompany her except for perhaps her ANBU guards. Yet even _they_ would not be staying with her for long, for as soon as she set foot inside the village, she was no longer their responsibility. At least she was to become a kunoichi while she was there, lips upturning smugly at the thought. Were she to stay with her family, it was uncertain as to whether or not her parents would allow her such liberties, special chakra or not. Her parents had lost one too many children to the shinobi life.

However, that singular piece of information alone was not enough to deter her from her aspirations: to become strong and to promote peace amongst the shinobi. So very stubborn was she, displaying a temperament as fiery as her long, thick locks; she could not be swayed from her decision, no matter how her mother pleaded or how much her father chastised her for her bullheadedness.

Just as her fate was sealed, her mind was set.

Her eyes were shut tightly, round face upturned; angled just so, so the last of the sun beams could scatter their patterns along her jaw line, the light drawing circles around her eyelids. A peaceful expression adorned her face as she took in the atmosphere that the strait had to offer. She inhaled deeply, the barest hint of a smile tugging her lips upwards into what one might consider to be an off-beat grin. This was her sweet escape, her daily session of peace away from the confines of the Uzumaki compound, bustling with ninja and civilians alike; away from the shrewd gazes of her parents and elder siblings. Really, there were way too many of them to keep track of all the time, it was a wonder how her father made due.

"_Ku-shi-na-hi-me,"_ a voice drawled lazily from somewhere nearby, and her eyes popped open at the sound, eyebrows knitting together as she concentrated on placing the direction in which the voice had come from. Where could he be? She _knew_ that voice better than anyone's in the whole wide world!

"Aa," he said, sounding farther away, "Kaa-san won't be happy that you've dirtied your kimono, imouto."

She pouted. "Aniki! Show yourself!"

Silence was the only answer that she received, and she crossed her arms over her chest petulantly.

"Now, now, Kushina-chan," she let out a startled shriek, stumbling forward before landing onto her hands and knees in the muddy sand. Gentle hands grasped her forearms before hefting her to her feet and twirling her around to meet twinkling violet eyes that mirrored her own, his thin frameless glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.

"That's no way to greet your favorite older brother!"

"Ryūjin-nii-san!" She grinned, all but shouting in his face before she dove into his embrace without warning. He caught her with ease, enveloping her into the warmth of his body with open arms, chuckling at her cheerfulness.

With a start, she realized that she would miss this familiar sense of security, safety and serenity when around her big brother. She would miss her brother most of all, forced to leave him behind in favor of Mito-sama's wishes. How cruel was Kami? To force her to leave behind the one person she wished could accompany her to Konoha.

Almost as if he could sense the dark path her thoughts were taking, Ryūjin pulled back to meet her gaze with a small smile. "We won't be separated forever," he told her, "I'll have Tou-san organize a transfer in a few months, so then you won't be off living by yourself."

"Mm."

Kushina bit her lip, wondering if her father would willingly let her brother become a shinobi of the Leaf to keep her company. It seemed too good to be true, even to her, especially since war was upon them. There were talks of an invasion being planned by enemy villages, villages that feared the collective power of the Uzumaki clan. The clan elders had brushed the rumors off as nothing, but still…something did not sit well with her. She knew her brother well enough to know he thought the same. It was just another one of the many reasons why she was reluctant to leave Uzushio behind.

Why leave when there was the possibility that her home could be in danger? Damn it all!

"Kushina."

Shaking herself from her thoughts, the little girl met her brother's narrowed eyes expectantly. He motioned for her to turn around, quirking a slender brow as she huffed in annoyance. It took a total of fifteen seconds for the stare down to draw to a close before she spun on her heel, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she knew what was coming. She could feel her brother's fingers combing through her seemingly untamable mane of hair and against her better judgment, she relaxed against his knee, the previous feelings of annoyance melting away to make room for calm and absolute contentment.

"Fate is kind to those who work hard," with heavily scarred yet skilled hands, Ryūjin finished braiding his baby sister's hair with a ribbon, tugging at the ends of her fishtail to let her know he was done, "so don't give up until the very end!"

"Hai, nii-san!" she shouted, fist-pumping the air before running forward to check her brother's handiwork in the reflection of the water, waving down at the image of herself with smiling eyes.

Blissfully unaware of her surroundings, the girl and her brother began to fade away into the mist, the mirror image of little Kushina in the water gradually beginning to take on a form of its own, aging rapidly, growing taller, filling out in places that only a woman could, red hair sliding down her back nearly reaching the floor in length, round face shedding its childish chubbiness in favor of a more oval shape. Her violet eyes lost their innocence, hardened by the cruelties of reality, years of training, engaging in combat, and the life of a jinchūriki. Hatred, war, bloodshed, loss, pain, death—she'd experienced it all, seen far more than someone her age should, having been forced to grow up to become the jailer of a demon as well as give birth to a "savior" she would never live to see become a legend.

_Fill the vessel with love._

Mito-sama's advice had been her guiding light in a sea of insecurities and doubts. The words had given her the strength to keep pushing forward. She would never give up. She had _promised_ her brother all those years ago at the strait that she would pull through no matter what.

"_I never go back on my word, -ttebane!"_

Hers and Minato's sacrifices had not been made in vain. Sealed inside the belly of Shinigami for all eternity, husband and wife made due. This was the price of their love for their child to continue living and to fulfill the prophecy. The two bore no regrets. Naruto would always come first. _Always._

Death took notice. He always took notice. Such selfless sacrifices were always to be rewarded. After all, it was for the greater good of not just one village, but _all_ of the nations. He would see to it that the child of prophecy succeeded in uniting the nations as one, for just as his parents before him, his destiny was sealed. So, who's to say He couldn't pull a few strings to alleviate the stresses of dealing with evil on a regular basis for the son of the Yellow Flash?

He took a shot in the dark, and life would never be what it was supposed to be for one Uzumaki Naruto. With Death's interference, changes would be made—for the better and for the worse. Now, it was just a matter of waiting to see where the cards would all fall.


End file.
